Emily Pickering

Naturalist/Expedition Diver

Emily was raised by two veterinarians in the mountains of Central Oregon, where she spent much of her time on the back of a horse dreaming about the sea. Her fascination was solidified by visits to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and summers spent gazing into tide pools and listening for killer whales off the coast of British Colombia.

At the age of eleven, Emily became SCUBA certified alongside her family in the icy murk of Cultus Lake. Inspired by life thriving beneath the waves in the Caribbean, South Pacific, Central America, and both coasts of North America, Emily is now a PADI dive instructor and particularly enjoys witnessing the pure wonderment accompanying every student’s first ocean dive.

Emily discovered the fusion of SCUBA and science during her early college years on a tiny spit of sand in the Bahamas where she studied the impacts of invasive lionfish on local fish populations. Following the completion of her B.Sc. degree at Oregon State University, she began work off the coast of North Carolina leading scientific diving operations on shipwrecks and deep rocky ledges. Now residing on the outer banks, Emily enjoys work on scientific diving projects, collecting fossilized shark teeth, and saving towards the purchase a sailboat.

Inspired by her hours spent underwater, Emily hopes to mentor and educate travelers from around the globe. She believes small groups of motivated individuals are the drivers of change and that learning to love the sea comes from experiencing its diversity. Emily hopes to dedicate her life to furthering conservation efforts, diving in salty water, and continuing to learn from the blue all around us.